


Reunification

by chanxoxohun



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: A little angst, Childhood Sweethearts, F/M, Fluff, Kuritsu, NSFW, Post-Curse, Trans!Ritsu, side!Akigure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27665363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanxoxohun/pseuds/chanxoxohun
Summary: Kureno Sohma moved far away from the city and into their family-owned hot spring in the provinces. There, he met his childhood friend that he once lost.
Relationships: Kureno Sohma/Ritsu Sohma
Comments: 5
Kudos: 4





	1. “You Hate Me”

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually a combined headcanons that me and my friends thought. And yes, we love Kuritsu so much.

“Master Kureno! I’m sorry for the little ruckus and the fact that you had to drive all the way here without any escort from us...” Madam Okami’s body shook, she held her head and screamed, “Forgive me! It’s my fault! I’m a worthless host!”

Kureno Sohma blinked confusedly at her, though he was indeed shocked at the sudden outburst, the whole scenario wasn’t really new to him. Instead, he smiled because it reminded him of childhood nostalgia. “No, it’s okay Madam. I was more than happy to be able to drive all the way here. The view was amazing.”

“B-but!”

“And besides, you don’t need to call me ‘Master Kureno’ since I’m going to be working here from now on, right?”

That made the old lady in front of him calmed down a bit. “Oh... yes. The head of the family, Akito-sama, mentioned about your employment here. Though, I am still confused to why she chose her former trusted assistant to be here in this kind of place.”

Kureno looked around. He was sitting at the lounge area of the inn owned by the Sohma family and was managed by Okami Sohma-the old lady in front of him, and her family. 

The place was far away from the city, far away from where he used to live. It took him almost three to four hours of driving to get there. Though, the scenery made the whole trip worth it.

He appreciated the wonder of the location. The magnificent view of the tall and greenly trees, the earthly but intoxicating smell of the land and the peace of the surroundings- all were welcoming him pleasantly.

The Sohma Inn, though, was very huge and vintage. The building looked like a building from an old Japanese bathhhouse that you see in movies, mixed with a modern touch. As he entered the vacinity earlier, he couldn’t help but compliment the aesthetic and the cleanliness of the place.

From the window close to where he sat, he could take a glimpse of the mountain view and the large outdoor bath. The weather was fine and sunny. Kureno couldn’t help but smile. Everything was beautiful. It was no wonder that the place was popular to tourists.

It was also no wonder why Akito- the current head of the Sohma family- pressed on him working here. The place would be a good healing for him after everything that happened. A peaceful vacation while working.

His eyes continued to wander around, looking for something... someone.

One of the sliding doors suddenly opened that made Kureno flinch in surprise. His heart skipped when he looked up to a very timid Ritsu Sohma.

“The... room is ready,” Ritsu informed shyly. She was looking down with her hands clasped together. She was wearing a light green and flowery furisode that she always used to wear. Her light brown hair was down and her bangs covered her forehead. Her face didn’t change much the last time Kureno saw her-still radiant as ever. Her fair skin had complimented her grey eyes- glimmering as if they like everything they see. 

Kureno couldn’t help but smile widely as he stood from the couch. “Ritchan, it has been a long time.”

Ritsu looked at him, as if she was shocked that he talked to her. “Ah... Kureno-nii... yes. It has been a long time.”

“Ritsu! Escort Master Kureno to his room now,” Madam Okami abruptly stood up and demanded her child before facing Kureno. “I will prepare your dinner right away, Master Kureno. I’ll bring it your room.”

He wanted to say something like, remind her not to call him ‘Master Kureno’ as he said earlier but the old lady quickly left the lounge area. He was left with Ritsu who seemed nervous while looking at him.

“A-ah... Your room is right this way,” Ritsu guided him to the hallway.

Kureno followed her while holding on to his cane. He can already walk but he still needed the walking stick to do it steadily.

Walking with Ritsu by his side felt like a distant memory. He couldn’t help but remember the last time they played together when they were kids. 

He glanced at her, the silence was deafening him. “I’m glad I have someone familiar here with me. It’s been a long time since we were together like this, right?”

Ritsu stared at him for a second then looked down. He noted how her face reddened and her hands clasped tighter. “Yes... I think ever since you were in high school?”

Kureno’s eyes widened in surprise that she still remembered the exact moment then looked down sadly. Yeah, ever since that time. The same time his curse was broken and he promised Akito that he would stay by her side. 

Ever since he made that promise, he let go a lot of things in his life. One of them was his close friendship with Ritsu.

“That’s why it’s a shocker why... you agreed on working here,” Ritsu continued, her voice so low as if she didn’t want him to hear it.

Kureno regarded her red face once again. He painfully thought how their broken friendship affected Ritsu back then. He probably scarred her entirely. 

Then now, this. Of course, she would be perplexed to his sudden decision now.

“This place seemed like a nice place to start over,” he answered honestly, after a few seconds of silence. “And besides, the outdoor bath felt like a good way to fully heal the wound in my back.”

He noticed how Ritsu eyed his posture worriedly. 

“Why? Is there something wrong that I’m here? You don’t like it? You don’t like me being here?” He slightly teased, wanting to lighten the mood. He didn’t want her to be worried about him. 

“Ahh?! N-no! That’s...That’s not what I meant! Ahh!I mean! I mean!! No... No like that!” 

Kureno watched closely as Ritsu’s eyes changed from worried to frantic. Her eyes were still transparent as ever. Her hands were moving everywhere. Her face was so red that he couldn’t help but smirk. 

A feeling from a long time ago was starting to awaken inside him. As he watched Ritsu in front of him, he unexpectedly realized something:

Ever since then, there was one thing that didn’t change.

Ritsu Sohma is still cute as ever.

~ 

It had been a week since Kureno started working in the Sohma Inn. He was tasked to do the financial management of the whole resort. It wasn’t a new job to him because he had done this before-working as Akito’s assistant and all- but this time, it was way easier. Way more relaxed.

Mainly because he wasn’t handling the whole family’s finance. It was just the resort. Though, it was a popular one, it wasn’t much work. 

On his first day, he was just on his office for two hours. Arranging and studying some files about the past records of the inn. 

The resort was doing so well, not that Kureno was surprised. Though there were some development requests that were put on hold because of the lack of extra funds. It wasn’t that alarming yet but Kureno knew it would be in the future operation.

Ritsu also helped him in arranging his things, especially in the office. She was accomodating enough that he didn’t have a hard time, even in his condition.

She gave him a bedroom large enough for one person with a bathroom, a walk-in closet and an extendable room as an office space. It also had a beautiful view from the window. 

Kureno turned to Ritsu with a large smile, “Thank you. This is beautiful.”

Ritsu blushed, only muttering a silent “You’re welcome” and then proceeded on helping him with his things inside the room.

He could feel her wariness from him, which made him sad. He knew it wouldn’t be that easy to be friends with her again after everything that happened. It would take more than just one conversation to ease up the awkward air around them.

Kureno couldn’t help but sigh as he remembered that scene. It had been a week and Ritsu still didn’t talk to him much, unless it was about work. The thought somehow depressed him.

The darkness started consuming the daylight as he finished his work and decided that he finally wanted a bath. The outdoor bath was open to him all the time but he never thought of using it until now. 

With a blue robe on and a white towel on his hand, he strutted to the hallway. Entering the locker room, he left his cane on the side. Walking without it was fine so he didn’t feel the need to bring it outside. He took off his robe and put on the towel that only reached above his knees.

The outdoor bath already felt warm and relaxing as he opened the door and approached. He was alone, it seems. The fog was almost thick and so visible. He could smell the earthy scent that he was starting to love ever since he came here.

Carefully, he dipped his feet unto the warm water. Kureno smiled softly at the comforting sensation that was starting to fill him. Before he sat down, he took off his towel and placed it above the rock beside him, his nakedness in sight.

Just when he was about sit, he suddenly heard a loud familiar shriek.

The water spashed vigorously when Kureno turned to the voice, his heart beating so hard and frantic. He was a bit stupefied because he thought he was alone. But he was wrong. On his left, he spotted Ritsu at the edge of the bath and for some reason was panicking. She was covering her eyes with her hands and the water flowed around her, giving her a hard time moving.

Instinctively, Kureno stepped towards her and helped. “Ritchan... are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Ah!” Ritsu yelled, shaking her head sideways. She looked so red.

He held her hands on her face, “Is there something in your eyes? Let me take a look!”

Ritsu froze then moved back a bit. “N-nothing! There’s nothing in my eyes!”

He took a step closer, getting more worried. “Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing!”

“But your face is so red!”

“It’s nothing! J-just sit down!”

Kureno tilted his head, confused. “What?”

“Just do it!”

He followed, sitting in front of her. The warm water flowed a bit around them. “There.”

“You already sat?”

Kureno frowned at her askance for assurance. “Yeah.”

Ritsu carefully peeked and slowly put down her hands to her lap underwater. Her face was still red and she wouldn’t meet Kureno’s eyes.

He couldn’t help but frown deeper because of her actions. “You hate me.”

“W-what? No! No! No!” Ritsu exclaimed, shocked at his accusation. She leaned slightly and her fists came up to her chests. “No! I don’t hate you!”

Kureno pouted, looking at her defensive stance. “Then what’s wrong? You’re acting like you hate having me around. Even these past few days you wouldn’t even have a casual conversation with me.”

“N-no... It’s just that... I accidentally took a nap here then when I opened my eyes... I saw...” Ritsu reddened more and more as she explained, her eyes looking away from him again.

Kureno blinked then realized,  _oh_. 

“Are you not used to seeing naked people?” He tilted his head in curiosity. Seeing naked people should be normal if you work in a hot spring, he thought.

“I am!” Ritsu exclaimed again, the redness in her cheeks radiated through her ears and to her neck. She then pursed her lips and looked back down to the water. Kureno almost didn’t hear her whisper. “It’s just that... it’s you...”

Kureno stared at Ritsu then chuckled. He didn’t know why but he could feel his cheeks burning and his heart pulsating because of what she said. He was astounded for a second. It has been a long time since he had felt this way again.

“So you’re not angry at me?”

Ritsu frowned-though her face was still red-as she looked at him. “Why would I be angry?”

“I don’t know. I thought you are. I mean, since you don’t talk to me and all.”

“I don’t,” her voice was a bit stern but quickly changed it as she cleared her throat. “I just don’t know how to start a conversation... that’s all.”

Her answer made Kureno feel relieved. The fact that she wasn’t angry at him eased a tiny bit of his worries. 

It was coherent enough that Ritsu would feel like that towards him. They never had a normal conversation for years and even though they see each other during the New Year’s Banquet in the Sohma Estate, they always avoided each other.

For some reason, Kureno felt the same way. He didn’t know how to start a conversation at her but his curiosity about her encouraged him to do it.

He wanted to know what he missed from her life. He wanted to know every detail, every changes, everything that he didn’t know about her while she was growing up.

Did she have new friends? New hobbies? New likes and dislikes?

He was that curious. 

“I miss you,” Kureno finally admitted. Living with Akito in the Sohma Estate was not all that bad but he couldn’t help but longed for something. And that whenever the Zodiac members would gather he couldn’t help but stare at a certain person far away from him, thinking when would she smile at him again like she did with the others.

Ritsu appeared shocked at his admission. Her lips parted but she was silent for a moment. It was like Ritsu was contemplating on what to say to him.

Then slowly, Kureno watched as her eyes glistened softly and a small smile formed on her lips. She finally managed a reply, “Me too.”

Something in his chest thumped, it was like a wave of emotion crashed inside him. “And also... I’m sorry.”

Ritsu’s eyes widened. It seemed that she didn’t expect him to apologize at all.

“I’m sorry for leaving you back when we were young. It was wrong of me to avoid you without any explanation. It was inexcusable because I still hurt you-“

“Akito-san needed you that time.”

Kureno paused and blinked. “What?”

Ritsu smiled at him, with a twinge of sadness in it. “Kureno-nii, you forgot that I was also part of the Zodiac. I understand what you felt about Akito-san that time. I may have done things differently if I was in your position, but knowing you and what kind of person you are, I know why you did those things.”

His heart felt like tearing apart and his eyes blurred from the upcoming tears. Ritsu Sohma, the friend that he left back then understood him more than ever. 

“Though, I did get hurt when you left so I’m still accepting your apology now,” Ritsu managed a soft chuckle for the first time.

A tear fell from his eyes and a smile appeard from his lips. He felt like something heavy was lifted from his heart when he finally heard that chuckle. He wanted to thank all the gods that they were still kind to him that he was able to witness such a beautiful sight.

Kureno raised an open hand to her. “So, are we good now?”

Ritsu received his hand. He noted how her hand felt warm and soft against his. “Yeah, we’re good.”


	2. “You Have An Important Call”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took for a while ><  
> But here it is!!  
> Enjoy~

Winter was told to be the busiest season in the Sohma Inn. People especially tourists would come and stay in the inn for a long period of time. Some would stay for a week or two and some would even stay for a month. 

The Sohma Inn was fully booked for days because some tourists even booked rooms earlier. Some walk-ins who wanted to stay would end up just visiting the hot spring only. 

The whole staff doubled their time working and Kureno was one of them. He was able to help more than just office work. He was able to help welcoming the guests, serving them, and also cleaning the rooms. Though, Madam Okami would always tell him that he didn’t need to do more. 

He didn’t have any problems or complains about working though, because he was able to spend more time with Ritsu through that. 

When he went out of his room once, he spotted Ritsu bringing a tray full of food. It looked heavy. He quickly walked towards her and took it. “Let me.”

Ritsu was surprised to see him outside his office and helping her, all of a sudden. “Kureno-nii! You don’t need to! It’s okay, I can do it!” 

Kureno shook his head at her, persistent to take the tray. “No, it’s okay. I can handle it.” 

Ritsu looked worriedly at his feet. “B-but your leg...”

He smiled reassuringly. “My leg is fine. I’m not even using my cane now, see?” He showed her his leg. When she didn’t say something, he continued, “I’m sure the guests are waiting for their meal. Why don’t you lead the way?”

Ritsu lead them into a suite room and into the dining area. Inside were a group of four rich teenagers wearing yukata, chatting at each other. When they entered, the teenagers cheered happily seeing their food ready to be served.

Kureno carefully placed and served the food to each person while Ritsu was introducing each meal to the guests. 

One guest accidentally spilled their glass of water into Kureno’s hand that the guest immediately apologized for. Kureno assured them that it was alright and then went to Ritsu’s side, close enough for them to whisper.

“Are you okay?” She asked and handed him a handkerchief. 

“Yeah, I’m okay don’t worry.” He accepted it with a slight chuckle. “Thank you. Good work.”

Ritsu was about to say something when a guest cooed unexpectedly at them, “Aw! You guys are a cute couple!”

They were surprised to say the least but Kureno saw how Ritsu’s face was about to change so his hand worked without thinking. He held Ritsu’s waist and with a wide smile to the guests, “Thank you!” then excused themselves out of the room before Ritsu starts to panic.

“T-they thought were a couple!” Ritsu exclaimed, her face was so red and her eyes were panicking. She covered her mouth as she let out a cry of embarrassment. 

“I think it’s fine,” he commented.

She turned to him, her hands covering her red cheeks. “Fine?!”

He watched her with a small grin, thinking how cute she was at the moment. He remembered what the guest said, and his face burned. Being called a couple, well, he didn’t mind though. Deep inside him, he felt something that he couldn’t explain. But he knew... Being with Ritsu made him happy.

He liked it. He liked being with her.

That’s when they started working together. Working with her was a big help in restoring their friendship. In just a few days, they were able to talk casually just like the old days. Ritsu was still a bit shy to him but slowly, she was reaching out and would share some things. 

She would share about the things she likes or her hobbies. She would share things about her school days and that when she turned college, she studied interior designing. 

“After I graduated, I want to help here as much as possible before I decide on where to work,” Ritsu stated, as she let the water fall from her hand.

Kureno was just beside her listening, watching her close.

They were back in the outdoor bath, just the two of them again. It was the start of the evening and the guests were now resting in their rooms. After a long day of work, it was the only time they finally got to rest so the two of them decided to try the outdoor bath. 

“Mom and Uncle needed help here, as you can see. It was hard to get workers here because this place was far from town,” she continued, looking at the water. “They would need to live here full-time if they have to work. Just like you.” 

“But, you still want to work in the city, right?” Kureno asked, his head tilted a bit.

Ritsu reddened a bit and softly nodded. “Y-yeah, I want to. It would be hard for me to adjust but still... I want to do it.”

Kureno smiled at her, proud. It was nice to know that he was seeing this brave side of Ritsu. He knew her for a long time and he knew that this meant so much to her. “I’m sure you can.” 

She looked at him, her eyes widened a bit. “You really think so?”

“Of course,” he said, truer than anything he had said before. “I believe in you. I’ll even support you if want.”

Ritsu chuckled then looked down. “T-thank you.”

The fog surrounding the bath was getting thicker and the mood was silent and relaxing. 

Kureno stretched his back slightly when he felt something touching his scar on his back. He turned and saw Ritsu touching him. 

“D-Does it still hurt?” She looked at him worriedly, though her eyes were misty and her cheeks flushing.

His heart palpitated fast at the electrifying touch of her finger. It was like every touch were small kisses on his skin, tingling his entire being.

And somehow he immediately knew. He smiled at her and answered honestly, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

They decided to leave after how many minutes. In Kureno’s office, he started to work on some financial reports that he left earlier. He placed his laptop and some papers in the coffee table in his office then sat down on the floor.

“Here,” a cup of tea was placed on his table. 

Kureno beamed at Ritsu. “Thank you so much.”

Ritsu makes the best tea in the inn, or probably the best tea that Kureno had ever tasted. He was a coffee person but ever since he tried Ritsu’s tea, he was starting to drink more tea than coffee.

Ritsu sat at the left side of the table and pouted as she watched what he was doing, “You should’ve done that first before you helped the kitchen earlier.”

Kureno took a sip of the tea. It was so delicious that he couldn’t help but smile as he placed the cup back to its saucer. “It’s okay. I’m just finishing up some things. It’s not really a big deal.”

“Okay... should I go? I don’t want to disturb you.”

“No,” Kureno frowned thinking that he’ll be alone in his office, alone doing work. He didn’t like it. “Stay. I like it whenever you’re around.”

Ritsu’s face reddened and her mouth opened a bit, then she looked down at her fingers in her lap. “Okay... I’ll stay. If that’s what you want.”

The way Ritsu said it made Kureno’s face flush and his heart skip. He cleared his throat then tried focusing on his work, typing on his laptop.

“Wow! Kureno-nii! You type so fast!”

His fingers stopped working as soon as he heard Ritsu. He looked at her, his face turning redder than before. “W-what?”

“You’re amazing! I’ve never seen anyone type that fast before!” Ritsu’s hands were clasped together in front of her and her eyes were glimmering. 

Kureno stared at her for a moment, his heart still beating fast. He let out a huge smile, her words making him happy. “Thanks.”

“I’m not really good at using gadgets and stuff like that so it’s amazing to see someone who’s good at these,” Ritsu stated as her eyes wanderedto his laptop then to him. “It’s really amazing!”

Kureno couldn’t help but stare at her. Her innocence, her simplicity and the way she appreciate things that didn’t seem like a big thing to others, Kureno... couldn’t help but like that about her. 

The way her eyes sparkle, you could see her transparency. You could easily see the emotion she was feeling. She was an open-book. 

Sensitive. 

Compassionate. 

Soft-hearted. 

Fragile yet so beautiful.

So beautiful that he couldn’t help but love.

His heart was throbbing stronger and faster than ever. Then his eyes went down to her smiling pinkish lips...

Ritsu noticed him staring that she looked back at him, wondering. “Kureno-nii?”

Something inside him made him to lean into her. He wanted... He wanted to see it close. He wanted to feel it.

He leaned in more... closer.

“K-Kureno-nii?” 

Kureno looked up to her eyes and was lost. He lost... so he leaned closer that it was inches to her face.

Her eyes widened, as if she finally realized what was happening but she didn’t push him away. Her soft lips parted, waiting.

Their lips were an inch apart, almost touching.

“Ritsu!” 

A shout immediately drifted them apart and Ritsu stood up abruptly. “Wh-what?!”

“Ritsu!” It was Ritsu’s mother’s voice and then the door to Kureno’s office loudly opened. She looked happy when she found her daughter inside. “Ritsu! There you are! I’ve been looking everywere for you! You have an important call! Come on!”

“C-call?” Ritsu was confused but her face was still red. “From whom?”

“From Akito-sama! Come on! Hurry!”

Ritsu peeked at Kureno, muttering an apology before leaving his office.

Kureno sighed and slouched, disappointed. He tapped his forehead thrice and scratched his hair, hard enough to shake his sanity. 

He closed his eyes and whispered, “That was close!”

~

Two days after the incident in his office, Kureno didn’t know if he felt more disappointed or relieved that they were back to normal. It was like Ritsu pretended that nothing happened and he had no choice but to do the same as her.

The days went by with everyone still busy as ever. The guests did lessened a bit because some already checked out.

The kitchen was still busy as ever, though. Ritsu’s Uncle was the head chef and some staffs were helping him.

Kureno didn’t know anything about cooking so all he could help was some extra work.

“Is it really okay Master Kureno?” Madam Okami asked for the nth time. She sounded unsure and worried.

They were at the garage, getting his car ready. It was still snowing but it was passable for a car trip. 

“Yeah,” Kureno reassured, clicking his car keys open. “And besides, Ritsu is coming with me, right?”

“Yes...” the old lady turned to her child. “Ritsu! Make sure that you help Master Kureno, okay? There are some orders that are quite heavy so assist him!”

That was why the two of them were currently inside Kureno’s car, on the way back to the city. They were tasked to get some supplies for the kitchen and some ingredients can be only found there. Kureno volunteered to the job and Madam Okami asked Ritsu to come with him.

It would be lie if he say that he didn’t the idea.

“Were you able to finish your work last time?” Ritsu asked from the passenger seat.

Kureno remembered that frustrating night. He sighed, “Yeah. It wasn’t really that hard so I finished it sooner.”

“What are you working on, anyway? Is there something I can do to help?”

“It’s nothing complicated,” Kureno said as he swiveled the steering wheel. “I’m planning to change the budget plan for the inn so that maybe we could add more staffs working here. We need more manpower especially during winter.”

“Oh, you’re right,” Ritsu nodded. “Especially more kitchen staff because it gets really busy there.”

“Yeah, I’m planning to have a meeting with Madam Okami about this, maybe after the winter season.”

They arrived at the market place first. Boxes of vegetables and meat were loaded in the backseat of his car. The boxes fit perfectly and was made sure that it wouldn’t fell all around.

“Don’t worry, they won’t smell and there’s ice on the box of meat so it wouldn’t turn bad,” a staff informed him when Kureno asked about it.

The next stop they did was in the largest grocery shop in the city. The two of them strolled through the shop with Kureno pushing the cart and Ritsu looking at the list in her hand.

“Flour. We need flour,” Ritsu told him after putting down ten bottles of oil. “Ten bags... that’s a lot.”

“Should we get another cart?” He asked, seeing that their cart was almost full.

Ritsu looked around. “Maybe... let’s find the baking section first.”

They continued walking around, with Ritsu leading and Kureno behind her. The place wasn’t surrounded by too many people, not that it was concerning him anymore. Kureno couldn’t help but remember the time when they would even worry about such small things like that.

Now, everything was different. A lot of things changed. They changed.

Kureno stared at Ritsu’s back on him. She was wearing a red furisode this time and her hair was still down. She looked cute while looking around with a paper on her hand. 

He couldn’t help but smile inwardly at their domestic situation. He didn’t mind... doing this a lot. 

Especially if it was with her.

“Oh? Is that Ritchan I’m seeing?”

Kureno paused at the familiar voice. They turned and was shocked to see Shigure holding a basket and was smiling widely at them... well, at Ritsu. Kureno looked at the person beside him.

“Shigure-nii-san! Akito-san! It’s been a long time!” Ritsu greeted and bowed at them.

Shigure laughed. “Yeah! You look like you grew a bit, hmm? And more beautiful!”

Ritsu blushed at the sudden compliment. “T-Thank you.”

“It’s nice to see the two of you together, Ritsu... Kureno,” Akito smiled at them. 

Shigure was deliberately ignoring Kureno so he was shocked to hear Akito greeting him openly. He smiled back to her and greeted, “Hello, Akito. It’s rare to see you in a grocery shop.”

Akito chuckled happily. “This guy over here wanted to show me this place, so I went.”

Kureno felt as if something was pricked into him and he knew it was Shigure glaring at him. 

Shigure pulled Akito closer to him, his hand staying on her waist. He faked a loud laugh. “Anyways! Ritchan! Have you thought about what Akito told you on the phone?”

Kureno didn’t know what Shigure was talking about so he looked at Ritsu. She was silent and was looking at them, as if reading the mood.

She flinched a bit when she met Kureno’s eyes and turned to Shigure to answer his question. “A-ah, I haven’t yet. I’m still thinking about it.”

“Oh well, you better think about it right away! This is once in a lifetime!” Shigure leaned into Ritsu in an adoring manner. When he leaned back, he turned to his girlfriend, “We should get going. We still need to find some things.”

“Yeah,” Akito agreed and the two left with a goodbye. Shigure was still ignoring Kureno’s presence. 

Ritsu was silent throughout the whole trip until they came back to the inn. Even when they helped unloading the supplies from his car. She remained silent even when she walked back to her room. 

Kureno was innocent to what made her mum but he just concluded that he was tired. 

At night time, he was surprised to hear Ritsu knocking on his door. 

“H-hi,” she started. “I’m here to say sorry about earlier.”

“Sorry?”

Ritsu looked down on her hands. “I didn’t know how to explain to you about the thing that Shigure-nii-san said so...”

Kureno grinned and shook his head. “There’s no need to apologize. You don’t have to tell me things you don’t like.”

Though he wasn’t shock because he knew Ritsu long enough that she was like that. 

“Ah... but,” Ritsu closed her eyes tightly then opened it to look at him seriously. “I want to tell you.”

Kureno could sense she was nervous or anxious about something. He was starting to worry. “What is it about?”

“Tomorrow, I’m going back to the city and stay for a few days.”

“What?” 

“I have... a meeting with Akito-san,” Ritsu showed a nervous smile, her fingers fiddling in front of her. “She was offering me a job.”

Kureno suddenly felt like he was losing his breath. His mouth was turning dry. “A...job?”

Ritsu nodded, her face flushed. “A job in the city.”

He cleared his throat and his lips pursed before asking., “For... how long?”

“I don’t know yet. But tomorrow, I’ll find out the details...” Ritsu giggled. Kureno could tell she was excited. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back. When we arrived, I called and set a meeting so I can finally decide.”

“I see...” Kureno managed a small reply. His heart and his head malfunctioned slowly. He didn’t know what to say to her without sounding as if he wasn’t happy for her.

He promised the last time that he would be supportive of her, but... he couldn’t help but feel like it was too soon. Too soon. 

Not when he was starting to enjoy working with her. Not when he was starting to enjoy her presence. Not when he was starting to love...

Then again, he couldn’t stop her. She deserved this job. He had no right to interfere in her decisions. Whether she accept it or not, he had no say. 

But then, why?

Why did he feel this way? 

Why did it feel like he didn’t want her to go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be next week!! 🖤

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a one-shot but I realized that it’s going to be a very long one so I cut it into chapters. Next chapter will be up next week! ❤︎


End file.
